Parents should not have any choice as to whether their children or wards received some form of religious exposure, says retired principal Jeff Broomes. He was adamant that that decision should be left to the state.
Broomes argued that parents were not given an option of sending or not sending their children to school for academic development, so why should that be allowed in relation to religious exposure for character and values development.
He was delivering a lecture entitled Protect Our Children And Save Our Country, hosted by the Child Care Board and held at Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St Michael, on Thursday night, and aimed at addressing youth violence.
“Yes, I definitely propose that all Barbadian children be mandated by law to attend their place of worship until at least age 12.
“Some have defined this suggestion as legislating religion, but it clearly is not. The strange thing about these criticisms is that the religious groupings that the critics say we would be compromising are the exact ones who make sure that their children have the exposure that we are recommending,” he argued.
Broomes said there was a glaring link between religious exposure or the lack thereof and the seemingly increasing levels of violence in schools and criminality.
He further explained there would be caveats; for example, at school, some children are exempted from religious observances. But just as the notion of homeschooling after the appropriate approval process has been explored, the same process for exemptions can be undergone in cases where there are devout atheists.
“Hear me clearly, be you Catholic, Adventist, Muslim, Hindu, Pentecost, Methodist, Baptist, Anglican or whatever, you go to your place of worship on the days and in the manner prescribed by your faith, no bigotry, no discrimination, no manipulation, but simple religious exposure for all . . . . When you start building good character, violence will subside,” he said.
“I will reiterate that the challenges to our country are great, and we must take forthright and positive action to address them if we are seriously going to protect our youth and save our country. The Child Care Board, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Royal Barbados Police Force, the Church, the schools cannot do it alone.” (SDB Media)
